How to Use whittle down in a Sentence

whittle down

phrasal verb

• How to whittle down the best Zoë Kravitz movies and TV shows?
  — Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 7 Jan. 2025
• The firm whittled down that list to about eight contenders.
  — Skyler Swisher, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2025
• All but 10 hopefuls passed on to the next round, when the judges whittled down the pool to a top three lookalikes.
  — Zoey Lyttle, People.com, 16 June 2025
• The six candidates were whittled down from 80 who sought to take part in the vote.
  — Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 28 June 2024
• Prior to the start of the first round, the field will be whittled down to 64 teams as eight teams compete in the First Four play-in round.
  — Jordan Freiman, CBS News, 17 Mar. 2024
• Over the next five days, the regional field will be whittled down from 36 to eight teams.
  — Caroline Price, Forbes.com, 2 Apr. 2025
• Scores of hard-bodied bravest were then whittled down to a dozen lucky models.
  — Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 23 Mar. 2025
• That list was whittled down to three, who were then bought in for interviews.
  — Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 28 Mar. 2025
• Over the next few hours, they were whittled down until 200 emerged as the next batch of senators.
  — Koh Ewe, TIME, 28 June 2024
• What was supposed to be a 10-day trip was whittled down to only a couple of days.
  — Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2025
• That’s when 18 wannabe winners will be slowly whittled down to just one.
  — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 29 Jan. 2025
• What was once hoped to be a 25-plus day shoot schedule was whittled down to 20 before filming.
  — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 9 Apr. 2025
• Google also whittled down its initial pledge to match that amount.
  — Lia Russell updated July 14, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2025
• This has been whittled down to five companies—big and small—which have set themselves up in a 2,400 square foot hub.
  — Kevin Rozario, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024
• On this occasion, there are five of them, although soon enough they are whittled down to one.
  — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2023
• The field will be whittled down when all ballots are received later this week.
  — Olivia Diaz, Washington Post, 21 June 2023
• Over time, the original nine were whittled down to three, leaving Lourd, Huvane and Lovett in charge.
  — Peter Kiefer, HollywoodReporter, 4 June 2025
• His status will be key for a team that has been whittled down to a seven-man rotation with him in it.
  — Joe Rexrode, The Athletic, 23 Mar. 2025
• In 2022, Madonna told Variety that whittling down the script had been a challenge.
  — Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2025
• The initial 41-count indictment has since been whittled down by McAfee, but Trump still faces eight charges in the case, down from the original 13.
  — Erin Doherty, Axios, 19 Dec. 2024
• Over the course of the season, viewers will see 15 chefs be whittled down episode by episode until only one remains.
  — Ahmed Ali Akbar, Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2025
• Yet in less than two years, that island has been whittled down by the sea to barely a dot — not much remains in the third photograph, dating to the end of 2024.
  — Stefanie Waldek, Space.com, 18 Jan. 2025
• The semifinals air Monday on NBC and will whittle down the competing artists from eight to just four, for a chance to compete in the finale.
  — Shania Russell, EW.com, 12 May 2025
• In the years since, a series of treaties and agreements between the two countries gradually whittled down that number.
  — Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA Today, 5 Feb. 2026
• The state has used those dollars to whittle down its hefty pension debt but still owes more than $33 billion in this area.
  — Keith M. Phaneuf, Hartford Courant, 3 Feb. 2026
• That field was whittled down to five then four before Warsh emerged as the selection.
  — Jeff Cox, CNBC, 30 Jan. 2026
• Ready to whittle down your own pantry and start shopping your kitchen?
  — Heather Riske, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Jan. 2026
• Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table has been whittled down to just four points.
  — Graham Ruthven, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
• This gives solid proof and helps whittle down your wardrobe.
  — Melissa Epifano, The Spruce, 26 Jan. 2026
• The final nominees for awards will be whittled down and shared on Tuesday, March 31.
  — Miguel Otárola, Denver Post, 21 Jan. 2026